Absentee pupils soars in new count

The number of Rochdale students persistently skipping school has more than doubled — following a change in the way the Government measures truancy.

New figures show 2,001 children missed at least 15 per cent of lessons in the last autumn and spring terms - the equivalent of a month’s worth of education.

Ministers said schools were taking action “simply too late”, so decided to widen the definition covering the worst truants.

So-called “persistent absentees,” used to be considered those missing at least 20 per cent of classes. Ministers lowered the threshold to 15 per cent earlier this year. By lowering the cut-off point, figures have soared nationally.

In Rochdale, the old 20 per cent level saw 828 children persistently failing to attend school over the two measured terms. Under the 15 per cent rule, the number has increased to 2,001. The percentage of students skipping school in the borough is 7.1 per cent, compared with 7.4 per cent across the North-West and 7.2 across England.

Schools Minister Nick Gibb said: “It is unacceptable that more than 450,000 pupils are missing the equivalent of a month of lessons a year. Even one day missed from school without very good reason is one too many.

“Children who are absent for substantial parts of their education fall behind and struggle to catch up. By lowering the threshold, we are encouraging schools to crack down on absence before the problem escalates.”

The Government’s Expert Adviser on behaviour, Charlie Taylor, said: “Schools know all too well what a harmful effect poor attendance can have on a child’s future prospects.

"We know that great efforts have been made to get absence down in schools. But as these figures show there are still too many pupils missing too many lessons.”